Our TIM-2 Studies evaluate colonic drug disposition by simulating either healthy or altered microbiome due to diet and diseased state, as well as investigate the effect of the microbiome on the release, dissolution and stability of drugs.
In order to minimize absorption in the small intestine and improve colonic delivery, controlled release formulations (e.g., enteric coating) can be used to delay initial release of the active drug until it reaches the terminal ileum. Accurate evaluation of enteric coated drug release throughout the colon is challenging, as it implies the use of radioactive tracer, hence the use of an alternative dynamic in vitro method such as our TIM Systems is highly preferred.
Incubated with human fecal slurries and kept under anaerobic conditions, we are able to:
- Allow the growth of a high density complex metabolically active microbiota, equivalent to that found in vivo.
- Predict results in the proximal colon, a segment that cannot be measured in clinical trials.
- Continuously remove microbial metabolites, recreating a physiological lumen environment for the microbiome.
- Screen new potential prebiotics
- Sample over time at the site where fermentation occurs,
- Simultaneous screening of different microbial metabolites allowing mechanistic insight (which is largely absent from human clinical trials)
This enables our sophisticated colonic model to accurately study the effect of non-digested and digested nutrients on gut microbiota modulation.
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